Digital inequality and educational outcomes: A sociological analysis of access, usage, and academic performance among secondary school students in Northern Nigeria

Abstract

While Nigeria’s internet penetration reached 45 percent in 2023, only 18 percent of secondary school students in Northern Nigeria have used a computer for learning, yet little research has examined how digital inequality shapes educational outcomes in this low-resource, conflict-affected region. This study employed an explanatory sequential mixed methods design with 240 secondary school students from six schools in Kano and Kaduna States, along with interviews with 24 students, six teachers, and four principals, to investigate how three dimensions of digital inequality, namely access, skills, and educational usage, predict academic performance in mathematics and English. Hierarchical linear regression revealed that physical access alone explained only 11 per cent of variance in performance, while adding digital skills and educational usage increased explained variance to 56 per cent. Moderation analyses showed that the effect of digital skills on performance was significantly weaker for female students (β=-0.44, p<0.001) and rural students (β=-0.29, p<0.01) compared to male and urban peers respectively. Qualitative findings explained these patterns through household gender gatekeeping, lack of teacher digital competence, and infrastructure failures including unreliable electricity. The study concludes that device distribution alone is ineffective; improving educational outcomes requires digital literacy training integrated into teacher education, structured educational usage assignments, infrastructure development for rural areas, and gender sensitive programming that addresses household barriers to girls’ digital learning.